NC Solar Youth Cup finals will be a blast – organisers

14 June 2018 – All roads this weekend lead to Kimberley’s Galeshewe Stadium where the finals of the ground-breaking and popular u17 Northern Cape Solar Youth tournament will take place.

Several dignitaries are expected to be in the Northern Cape provincial capital from Saturday when the penultimate games take place leading to the much-anticipated finals on Sunday. Among the dignitaries expected in Kimberley are Northern Cape MEC for Sports, Arts and Culture Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, SAFA acting President Ria Ledwaba and SAFA NEC members Gladwin White, David Bantu and Emma Hendricks.

Also in attendance will be Provincial Technical Officers from Northern Cape including u17 coach Molefi Ntseki, Arthur Zwane, Philane Khubeka and Fabian McCarthy to look at potential talent.

“This is going to be huge; Kimberley is the place where the soccer family will congregate this week. The finals are set to be a blast because the matches leading up to this have been nothing but compelling to watch,” said tournament organiser, Willy Motlogelwa.

“We are expecting a good crowd on Saturday and Sunday when we crown the eventual winners who will walk away with a glittering trophy plus R100 000 in prize money,” added Motlogelwa.

The runners up will pocket R50 000 with the third and fourth-placed teams walking away with R20 000 and R10 000 respectively. The NC Solar Youth tournament is one of the biggest youth tournaments in the country and Motlogelwa says following the success of this year’s tournament, this competition can only grow from strength to strength in coming years.

“We want this Province to be among the hub for youth development and ultimately benefit our national teams; that is our ultimate goal in pushing this youth agenda,” he said.

His assertion was supported by Ms Ledwaba who is acting SAFA President in place of Dr Danny Jordaan who is attending the FIFA World Cup and FIFA matters in Russia.

“We are really proud of what several companies in this Province have done to support youth football and we call upon other corporate to do the same. I would also like to thank Willy Motlogelwa and his capable team of putting together this tournament. We want this to herald the beginning of bigger things to come from this Province as far as football is concerned,” said Ms Ledwaba.

LaLiga director of Africa, Antonio Barradas said LaLiga was always willing to join hands with companies and individuals whose agenda was growing the sport.

“We want some of these players from this Province to end up playing for some of the biggest clubs in Europe like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia. We will cooperate to make sure we realise this goal,” said Barradas.

The Solar Youth Cup which is being run under the patronage of SAFA and their partner LaLiga, is sponsored by Sishen Solar Facility, Kathu Solar Park, Lesedi Power Project, Scatec Solar, Northern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, Economic Development Solution and Loago Sports SA.